Last Sunday, my friend Darby and I went to Banner Elk and Valle Crucis. At supper time, we went to a place close to Mast General Store.
We were very excited to try a dish that we had never heard of but sounded really interesting and delicious — tomato cobbler.
Our dinner was really good. I discovered an astonishing salad dressing that I will share with you in another column. We had roasted okra, fresh sourdough bread with mountain butter, and for dessert, a butterscotch pudding.
But the tomato cobbler was so disappointing, it kind of made us sad. It was a clunky dish made stodgy from an abundance of tomato paste, containing one thin slice of tomato, and topped with a thick slice of gooey cheese under a very flat biscuit that was so overworked it was almost rubbery.
As we dined, we began talking about what we were expecting in a tomato cobbler, and how, in the fall, we could make a much fresher, lighter, improved version of the dish.
Today, I made that dish.
I used grape and cherry tomatoes because this time of year regular ones are pale, mealy imitations of bright, fresh summer tomatoes.
Darby and I enjoyed eating the tomato cobbler that we should have had last week.
Let me know what you think, Gentle Reader.
Thanks for your time.
Contact me at dm@bullcity.mom.
In a large, heavy pot render pancetta on medium low until the fat has cooked out and the meat is crispy. Remove and set aside. Turn off burner but leave the rendered pancetta fat in pot.
Place all the tomatoes in a bowl. Drizzle with oil and liberally season with salt and plenty pepper.
Turn burner under pot of pancetta fat on medium-high and let it go until it just begins to smoke. Pour in all the tomatoes at once; let the tomatoes cook, stirring occasionally until there is some stuff (called fond) sticking to the bottom of the pot, and the tomatoes have begun to split and release their juice.
Add the wine and give it a stir. Tomatoes have flavors that are only developed when they are exposed to alcohol (called alcohol soluble flavors). Now stir together the water and corn starch (slurry) and once the alcohol smell has mostly dissipated, pour in the slurry and once it’s all stirred in and the juice is slightly thickened, take off the heat and stir in the herbs.
Set aside and let cool down a bit.
Put the butter and flour into a bowl and mix it until the mixture looks like coarse sand (like you are making biscuits. Add the cheese and mix it in — you want it to look like a crumble for a Dutch apple pie. You make need to add a little vegetable oil to make it come together into pea-sized shards.
Preheat oven to 375°.
Spray a single-serve flattish dish with non-stick cooking spray. Add 1 ½ to 2 cups of tomato mixture into the dish and generously sprinkle the cheese straw crumble on top.
Place on the middle rack and bake for 15-18 minutes or until the juice begins to bubble around the sides of the dish.
Turn broiler on high and cook for a few minutes until the topping begins to brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool for five or ten minutes and serve with savory whipped cream on the side.
Place everything into a tall vessel and, using an immersion blender, blend until you have soft peaks. Check for seasoning.
*If you don’t have an immersion blender, use a mixer or whisk. A blender gets too warm and will not make a pleasant texture.
Slice the okra in half, long ways. Get a cast iron skillet screaming hot. In batches, add a tablespoon or so of oil into the pan and lay the okra, cut side down. Cook for about a minute or so, until the cut side is almost charred. Remove from pan, season, and add the next batch to the pan. Repeat until all the okra is cooked.